Woodwind musical instrument



y 8' 1952 H. w. LONEY WOODWIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed April 10, 1950 ay g ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 8, 1952 A EN orrics Hugh w. Loney; Elkhart, Ind., assignor to o. G.

Conn, Ltd., Elkhart, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application April 10,

1 This invention relates to woodwind musical instruments andmore particularly to aconstruction of instrumentsof the clarinet type to control and-imp'roveintonation.

' Many of the woodwind instruments like saxaphones repeat octavesin their different registers and create no particular difiiculty inproducing proper intonation in the different registers. Instruments-such as clarinets'and oboes, however, provide aninterval in excess of an octave between their difierent registers, and difficulty has been encountered in obtainingproper intonation with instruments of this types-As used herein; the term instruments of the clarinet type refers to those instruments in which the intervals between different registersare not an octave.-

Ill'WOOdWindS of this type the registers tend to 'b'e extremely short at certain ofthe to'ne holesand' long at others' It has heretofore been the practice to compensate for this effect by shifting the offending tone holes from their proper acoustical positions .and varying their sizes. When a tone hole is made smaller its response is stufiy and when it is made larger its tone quality does not match the remainder of the instrument. Such compensation must therefore always involve a compromise in one or both registers 'andis only partially satisfactory. (The present invention has for its principal object the provision 'of a woodwind instrument of the clarinet type in which correct intonation is produced at all of the tone holes in all registers.

Another object is to provide a woodwind instrument of the clarinet type in which correct intonation is produced by varying the bore size adjacent the several tone holes.

Other objects and the principles of the invention will be understood more clearly by reference to the accompanyin drawing, in which- The single figure is a diagrammatic sectional view of a clarinet body constructed according to the invention.

As shown, the invention is embodied in a tubular clarinet body indicated generally at In which may be formed of wood, metal or any other desired material. The body is formed by an upper joint II and a lower joint l2 fitting together through a telescoping joint in the usual manner. At its upper end the upper joint fits with the usual barrel joint I3 which carries the usual reed mouthpiece, and the lower joint at its lower end receives the usual bell [4. The upper and lower joints are of approximately the same length, although the lower joint may be slightly longer as in conventional clarinet construction.

1950, Serial No. 155,026

. l 6 Claims. (01. 84382)' l I 2 g The body I0 is formed throughout its length withithe usual tone holes designated 4 to- '2'! in accordance with the numbering system generally accepted in theindustry, the relative sizes and locations of these tone holes being indicated only generally. These tone holes are opened and closed'by key pads or by the fingers of the operator in the usual mannerin playing the 'instru ment. v

In the conventional instruments the bore of' the instrument has normally tapered from the upper or mouthpiece end to approximately the location of tone hole number four and has beencylindrical from this point to approximately the location of tone hole number twenty after which the bore flated' outward 'for connection to' the bell.' The group of tone holes from about sixteen to twenty inclusive in instruments of this type have had short registers and also the group of tone holes from four-to eight inclusive have had short registers. In the area from ton'e hole nine to fifteen the register has been too long. In correcting for these effects by moving and changing the'sizes of the tone holes compromises have been effected which provide a reasonably satisfactory functioning of the instrument, but the desired intonation in all of the registers cannot be 'achievedJf According to the present invention advantage is taken of the fact that changing the size of the bore will'change the musical characteristic." For example, if the bore is made smaller, the'regis ter is lengthened, or in other words the first or lowermost tone is flattened without affecting the third mode or harmonic which is produced in the second register. For this purpose the; bore is tapered to a minimum size in the areas encompassed by tone holes four to eight and by tone holes sixteen to twenty. At the same time increasing the bore tends to shorten the register so that the bore is increased in the area encompassed by tone holes ten to fifteen to shorten the register for these tone holes. With the bore properly shaped to produce the proper diameter in register with the various tone holes proper intonation of the instrument in both registers is obtained while maintaining the tone holes at the optimum size and at the correct positions.

In the instrument, as. shown, the upper end of the upper joint is of relatively large diameter, and for a B flat clarinet, as shown, is approximately .600 inches. From the upper end of the upper joint the bore tapers inward to a cylindrical portion extending from approximately the center of tone hole number six to the center of tone hole number seven and having a diameter of ister adjacent the tone holes four to eight and sixteen to twenty so that proper intonation of the tones issuing from these holes is obtained in both playing registers. Increasing of the bore in the area of tone holes nine to fifteen tends to shorten the register of these tone holes so that they will also produce proper intonation in both registers. Thus with an instrument constructed according to the present invention the musical quality of the notes produced by the various tone holes is wellbalanced, and the instrument is properly tuned in both playing registers. While the invention has been particularly described in connection with clarinets, it'will be apparent that the samegeneral construction is applicable to oboes and other instrumentsof the clarinet'type. While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, referenc being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is: H 1. A woodwind musical instrument of the clarinet-type comprising an elongated tubular body having a mouthpiece end and a bell end, the body being formed with a series of tone jholes spaced along its length, the portion'of the body adjacent the bell end tapering inward in both directions to a relatively short portion of minimum' diameter spaced slightly from'the center of the body toward the bell end. 2. A woodwind musical instrument of the clarinet type comprising an elongated tubular body having a mouthpiece end and a bell end, the body being formedwith a series of tone holes spaced along "its length, the bore in the body'starting with'a'relatively'large area at the mouthpiece end, tapering to a'smaller area approximately one-'fourth the length of the body from the mouthpiece end, flaring to a largerarea at ap proximately the center of the body, tapering sharply to a relatively small area. and finally flaring toward the bell end.

3. A woodwind instrument of the clarinet type comprising an elongated tubular body formed of an upper joint and a lower joint of approximately equal length, the body being formed with a series of tone" holes spaced along its'length, the bore in the .upper joint tapering inward from both ends to a portion of minimum diameter intermediate its ends.

4. A woodwind instrument of the clarinet type comprising an elongated tubular body formed of an upper joint and a lower joint of approximately 1 equal length, the body being formed with a series of tone holes spaced along its length, the bore in the lower joint tapering relatively sharply inward from its 'upper end to a portion of minimum diameter and flaring outward from said portion toward its lower end.

5. A woodwind instrument of the clarinet type comprising an elongated tubular body formed of an upper joint and a lower joint of approximately equal length and each having ends; the body being formed with a series of tone holes spaced along its length, the bores in both joints tapering inward from the ends of thejoints and being of equal size wherethe joints connect.

REFERENCES orrnn The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN l ATENTS Number Country Date 29,532 Great Britain Dec.20, 1910 

